Taking a Chance
by seward907
Summary: When Katara is given the chance to contribute to the war, she takes it. Her brother and her are supposed to help the Avatar by concealing him in Omashu, but things don't always go the way they're planned, especially after she meets the boy with the scar.
1. Chapter 1

Katara has always yearned for an adventure.

The only thing is that there are not any out there for her to have. Sure there's plenty out there, but it's all beyond her reach. All across the ocean, far away from her icy little home. Every day is just the same. All she has is her little village, with her brother and her grandmother as companions. That, and lots of snow. But she doesn't even know how to bend it.

Three long years it has remained this way. Three long years since her world fell apart.

Three years was the amount of time since her dad along with the men of the village left to fight the war. It was also the same amount of time since the last Fire Nation raid.

It might have been easier to deal with the absence of her father, if she wasn't also dealing with the death of her mother.

Katara often wondered why. Why, after several years without being touched by the Fire Nation, that they would suddenly come back just to kill her mother. But there is never an answer for the senseless violence of war. There is only death and sadness.

And anger.

Katara's father also happened to be the chief of their small village. The people were outraged that the wife of the Chief was killed. Some wanted to fight, and others wanted to stay to protect their own wives and children. But at the center of it all was a very sad and lonely man. This man was Chief Hakoda.

It was his decision to leave. It was for the best, he said. The Earth Kingdom was fighting them on land, so they would fight them on sea. The comet was coming regardless, so they might as well go out fighting. And so the men left, to fight a war started long before they were born.

But they also left behind one hurt, and confused girl.

Long after their boats had left, she had sat there in the snow. At the age of fourteen she knew that the chances of her father coming back weren't great and it made her angry.

She had already cried more than she had ever cried before after she saw her mother's lifeless body. She had felt the pain, the grief. The emptiness.

And when her father left she was angry.

She understood why he did what he did but she didn't want to accept it. Didn't want to accept the fact the only parent she had left, abandoned her to grieve without him. Had abandoned her to fill a void that couldn't be filled by anyone but her mother.

She didn't blame it on her dad though. She blamed it on the war.

In the time before Katara and her brother were born, the Great War began. It was a dangerous time and the four nations knew that the balance in the world that had allowed them to coexist was in danger. Fire Lord Sozin had killed the last Avatar and destroyed any hope of him returning by eliminating the entire race of Air Nomads. The most peace loving of the three nations were slaughtered in a mass genocide and thus, the balance was tipped and so the world plunged into chaos. The Avatar was thought to be gone forever and never appeared again. The ultimate power that kept the four nations functioning was gone.

Turmoil erupted, and the Fire Nation became a country of war. The remaining nations were forced to protect their homelands.

Without the Avatar's guidance, the world became a dark place. Families were torn apart, children went hungry, and there were many, many deaths. The Fire Nation's superiority in machinery gave them an edge no one else had. They burned and they killed, under the reign of a series of corrupted Firelords.

They defended and they protected, waiting and waiting for the savior to deliver them. But he never came. This war has lasted one hundred years and the end was drawing near. Almost every single man, from the ages sixteen all the way to sixty were out there trying to preserve what is left of the original world, the world that was created under peace and balance. The dream remains, but the hope is dwindling. The Comet that started the war is coming back to end it. Time is not on the side of those who still dream of peace.

And in a corner of the world, are the remains of what once was a large and prosperous Water Tribe.

The Southern Water tribe vilage is now a small and desolate place. After repeated raids and the capturing of the water benders, it had become of little worth to anyone who did not live there. Women, children and widows live there now. The men are gone fighting and all they can do until they come back is wait.

Day to day life there is more or less the same. Children are taught by the women, while the older kids go trapping. Traps are made by the older folk who spend their times quietly now, inside their homes near the fire place. Their experienced hands twist dried animal skin into ropes and into traps so they might have a meal the next day. A select few of those who still knew how, went fishing.

Katara and Sokka are the most able bodied because they were just young enough to be left behind when the Southern Tribe entered the war. They ventured the farthest from the village, and brought home whatever they could.

But even then, food was scarce. The village shared everything from food to clothing to a warm fire. Everyone knew everyone and each person was like family. They functioned well together but they lived a strained life. Tension is ever present but it 's The waiting is what kills them the most, especially for those who have a father, son, or husband in the war.

Katara and Sokka do their best for the tribe in their father's absence. Sokka built a watch tower, though poorly made and hardly used. Katara helped the children and the elderly. They hunted and they stuck together always.

Katara didn't know what she would have done if she didn't have Sokka and she liked to imagine that Sokka didn't either. She thought he was an insufferable jerk and he thought he thought she was an overbearing snoop but they loved each other. And they couldn't had survived without the other.

They tried to be each other's rock, but they didn't fool each other one bit. Katara would sometimes cry when she thought Sokka couldn't hear and Sokka would disappear time to time out into the icy tundra by himself and come back, eyes puffy and red. Each would be met with a sympathetic look and then a half-smile joined with bad joke to lighten the mood.

But neither of them really talked about what happened. It was a memory that they tried to push away with time. But Katara still remembered it like it happened yesterday.

And so, three years later finds Katara and her brother on the outskirts of the village collecting clean snow to melt over the fire for water.

Sokka carries two buckets, and Katara one. Bending the snow makes for a better and easier way to collect water. This is the extent of her water bending abilities.

She loved the water. In the times she spent alone after her mother died, she felt disconnected from everything. She was broken, and the pieces needed to put her back together were irretrievable. The people she trusted the most were gone and bending even the tiniest amount of water, made her feel a connection with something again. With her water, she learned to find another way to deal with her life. She accepted her loss, and put herself together again, flowing over the obstacles. It taught her that there would always be problems, but like the water, you just had to keep flowing.

Either way, she was not an accomplished bender in the least. She didn't have time to practice anyway. Living in the South Pole made everyday life a fight to survive.

"Hurry up Katara, I want to be there when Dad come home." Sokka said as he lined up his buckets for his sister to fill.

Katara spread her feet apart in the snow and leaned away from the buckets. Slowly, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, moving her hands together from left to right in an upwards motion. The white snow in front of her seemed to reluctantly mimic her movements and slid over the ground and up into a bucket. She moved onto the next one, rubbing her gloved hands together before starting again.

"I'm not so sure I want to see him." She said in reply, not looking at her brother. "It's been three years you know."

Sokka played with the white fur tassels on his coat answering, "He's our dad Katara. I know he left us, but at least he's coming to see us. The war isn't even over yet and he's taking the time to be with us again. Don't you want to see him just a little tiny bit?"

She smiled as she filled the last bucket. "I know, you're right. I'm finished now so we can head back." She said picking up a bucket now filled with snow. "And we aren't even that far away. Don't worry, we'll know when they're here." She said jokingly, flicking a bit of snow into Sokka's face. She was used to this now. Keeping the hurt inside.

He spat out the bit that landed on his mouth and ran after his sister, hefting the two buckets off the ground. "Hey!" he yelled annoyed.

One week ago they received a message from a messenger arctic pigeon-fowl, bearing a delicately rolled up scroll in a case made of animal skin upon its snowy white back. Before the tribe even opened the note, they knew something was going to happen soon. When the men left, they took exactly two pigeon-fowls with them to send a message to the tribe if anything major happened. The birds were the last connection between them.

The scroll contained a long letter from the chief, stating the condition of their fleet and the men along with the news that they were to return home. The men had fought hard the last three years, and needed a moral boost that could only come from their loved ones. They missed home terribly. So therefore, the fleet was returning for exactly three days because they could spare no more time. The war was going to end soon anyway. Sozin's comet was near. This visit back to the tribe was most likely a final good-bye before they fight a battle they have already lost.

The water tribe siblings entered the village, swinging their buckets by their sides and waving to their neighbors as they walked towards the southern part of their tiny home where their grandmother waited in their house constructed of ice.

Katara brushed the tent flap aside calling out to her grandmother. "Gran-Gran we're back!" She settled her bucket over the fireplace, sliding the handle on to the bar hanging over it where the snow could melt onto water. Sokka placed his buckets outside where the snow would stay snow until later.

"Children, what are you doing here?" Their grandmother said as Katara nearly ran into her. Katara stepped backwards into Sokka.

"What are you talking about?" Sokka asked his grandmother as he set his spear against the wall and letting down his hood.

"The call just went out that the ships have been sighted. I was just on my way out when you came." She said.

The two stared at her, a bit in shock at the news. The men were finally here. After three years.

"Well, don't just stand there. Let's go see your father!" Gran-Gran said ushering the teenagers out. She pushed them gently through the flap of the tent, and took the lead in walking towards the ocean.

Katara glanced warily over at her brother behind her grandmothers back. _Too fast!_ She kept thinking. She didn't feel ready to see him again. She had been waiting for three whole years and now when they were finally back, she felt time was moving too fast. Suddenly the distance between her and her father wad shrinking at an alarming rate.

Her brother's eyes meet hers and he flashes a goofy grin. "Relax Katara. Just think of the huge feast that we're going to eat tonight!" Typical, she thinks. Her brother's mind is always on food. But the remark has its intended reaction and Katara smiles.

Her brother drew his fur hood over his head once again, and as an afterthought said, "It'll be okay. Dads home again. Just think of how much you miss him." He said before taking off to walk beside their grandmother. Katara shut her eyes and opened them again. She was ready.

Tightening her parka's hood to make sure it didn't blow off in the wind, she set off after her family clutching her mother's necklace in a death grip. The smooth stone made the same imprint in her hand she was familiar with and it made her braver. What was she so worried about anyway? She let go reluctantly and pasted a smile on her face, running to catch up.

Other women and children stepped out of their homes as they heard the signal the lookout used to alert people to the presence of incoming ships. People barely heard it anymore and its' rousing call made people excited. Horns signified the coming of trade ships or in this case, their very own boats. No one had heard it in a very long time.

Naiku, a woman whose husband was on one of the ships, fell in step with them. Everyone was heading towards the shoreline now. "It seems like it's been forever." she said. Her hands were tangled in her black hair, hastily pulling it into a braid, but the smile on her face was huge. The older woman was somewhat of a teacher for the children of the South Pole and over all a very sweet woman. Katara liked her.

"It has been." Katara replied. Naiku smiled and put both of her hands on Katara's shoulders and gave them a squeeze, just like she used to when Katara was just a little girl. It was comforting in a way.

Looking around at the rest of the village, Katara noticed the little children wandered eagerly along with the crowd. Some of them were just old enough to be walking and it was a bitter reminder to her that some of the children hadn't even met their fathers. But she pushed these thoughts away. Today was a happy day.

She had been so occupied with her thoughts that she almost missed the docking of the ships. They were still quite a bit away from the shore, but she could already make out the forms of men jumping off the ships and hammering the ropes down on into the ice with long pegs. Her heart swelled. She hadn't seen those blue sails for a long time. They all cheered in response to the arrival.

It seemed that even the universe knew the significance of this day, for in the first time in ages the day was cloudless and the sun shone down on them, making the white snow give off a bright glare. The little children began to get excited and took off skipping and running to the ships, off to the fathers they barely remembered.

"Well?" Kanna, Sokka and Katara's grandmother said expectantly. "What are you waiting for? Your father is home!" She shoved them off to meet the disembarking sailors who were already on their way over, just couple hundred yards away now. Katara's eyes met Sokka's and he shrugged his shoulders before waving for her to follow him on the trek to the shoreline. She followed his lead into

As the two forces of people crashed together, they merged into one. Two parts of one whole separated for far too long molder together again on the euphoria of incredible longing and happiness. Families reunited and children cried out in pure joy of seeing their fathers and brothers home again. Friends and neighbors were once again viewing each other with profound fondness. As husbands embraced wives, new promises were made of love that would last forever no matter how long the separation. But Katara and Sokka still searched among the reunited tribal members searching for the face that mattered most.

"Where is he?" Katara asked her brother. A dread started to set in. What if he was injured? What if he was somewhere else? What if he was… dead? He couldn't be dead, she decided. The spirits could not be that cruel to her.

"Sokka? Katara?" A deep, hesitant voice called out from behind them. And just like that, the fears disappeared. With one look at the man Katara had missed for three years, all the hatred she had for him was temporarily relinquished as she grabbed Sokka's gloved hand and jerked him to the man who had called for them: Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. Her Dad.

When his searching eyes finally landed on his children, the man fell to his knees just in time to embrace the teenagers. They fell to the ground beside the many others embracing their loved ones. Amidst the laughter and tears they held one another closely. Katara inhaled the scent of her father and realized he still smelt the same as he did before, like old furs with a hint of the scent of fish. It made her feel like a little girl again. Tears leaked from her eyes and as her father pulled away, he took off his gloves and swiped her tears aside with his thumb. With his other hand, he ruffled his sons hair messing up is wolf-tail. But Sokka didn't mind.

She let out a few sobs before giving her father another hug. "I missed you so much." She said with complete sincerity. She felt almost whole again. She hadn't felt like that since her mother died.

"I missed you too sweetie." He said against her hair. She pulled away, keeping her hand on his shoulder as he embraced Sokka again. Not to her surprise, Katara caught a tear sliding down her brother's face. "I took care of her, just like you said." Sokka told him.

Hakoda pulled away and looked at his children before him. "You've both grown so much, into wonderful young adults." He said. "My beautiful daughter." He said brushing his hand over Katara's face. She caught it and held it against her cheek, never wanting to let go. "And my strong warrior." He said patting his son's shoulder. This brought smiles to both their faces.

"Your children missed you." Kanna said from behind them. They turned to look at the tough old women in front of them. She had her arms at her sides, her wrinkled face expressionless. "And so did I." She finished allowing a smile to cross her features. Hakoda stood and embraced the old woman.

He chuckled and looked at his remaining family, as well as the many others around them. All the families were huddled together, smiling and hugging each other reveling in each other's presence. "Well men, let us be with our families. We will reconvene tonight." He announced in a raised voice. The village erupted in cheers and shouts and everyone took off in the direction in the village. Fathers scooped up their children and threw their arms around their wives and mothers. The chief himself swung his arms proudly around his kids as they took off in the direction of the village.

"It's good to be home." He said wistfully, looking to where the village was.

"We're glad you're home." Katara said truthfully. With her arms around her father, she felt like everything was finally going to be okay. The war faded away into the background and all that mattered was the person who had his arm around her. All the scolding she had built up could wait until later.

But then the Tribal chief halted his steps and turned around. "Oh, I almost forgot." He said. He removed himself from his children's grasps and walked back to where a lone boy stood. As Katara looked at him he seemed maybe a couple years younger than herself. He had a traditional water Tribe parka on that looked just a little too big for him. He had scruffy, curiously short dark brown hair and around his head was a white strip of cloth, usually used for keeping their under tunics together. His skin was paler than most, but he had on a sheepish smile that suggested nothing sinister.

Katara looked at him in confusion. She'd never seen him before. What was he doing here?

Hakoda put his hand on the boy's shoulder in a familiar way and said, "This is Aang. He came to us in the strangest of ways and he's been a part of the crew for about a year now. He'll be staying with us for the duration of our time spent here."

Aang held out his gloved hand to the siblings. "It's an honor to meet you. Chief Hakoda has told me a lot about you." Sokka stole a glance to his sister before grasping the stranger's wrist in a 'manly' manner and solidly shook it once. Katara smiled at him while she shook his hand to mask her apprehensiveness.

"I'm Katara, and this is my brother Sokka." She told him. In reply Aang waved his hand in greeting but looked up to Hakoda on how to proceed.

Hakoda nodded and then once again grabbed the sibling's shoulders to proceed to the village. Katara faintly heard Aang strike up a conversation with her Gran Gran behind them.

"Who is he?" Sokka said, beating Katara to the question.

Hakoda lowered his tone and said "I'll tell you in good time. For now, we celebrate."

Katara realized this was all she was going to get, so she changed the subject. "We're all planning to watch the lights tonight. On the same hill we always watch them from." She smiled as she looked up into her father's eyes.

He smiled back. "That sounds like a great idea." His narrowed eyes relaxed and radiated happiness, just to be back where he belonged. Katara shook aside the feeling that there was an intruder among them and decided to enjoy the moment and just be with her dad.

**AN: Yup, it's me again. Its summer and I have gathered the gusto to begin rewriting this thing. I'm hoping that this turns out good and I'll only post chapters after I'm completely satisfied with them. I want the best for you guys as well as for myself. So I can't promise quick updates but I do promise my best work. I hope you join me on this journey. (And yes it's Zutara, I'll get there eventually ;)**

**As for my other series (Our Song & Finding You), its temporarily on hiatus. Sorry guys. It seems forever ago that I made those stories and honestly I think my writing has improved since then. Rereading that stuff makes me cringe.**

**On an ending note, I'll say something that you've probably heard too many times before.**

**Please review! It seriously feeds my desire to write. Bring on the flames, I'm ready and willing to improve my writing.**


	2. Chapter 2

Katara was getting increasingly jealous although she would hate to admit it.

The bulk of the afternoon was spent in the crowded home of the Chiefs family. They all sat around the fire, eating the rest of the soup Katara had made the night before. Around their meager fire also was the new addition. Aang.

Aang was fifteen, she learned. He was a water bender but apparently knew very little about it. When Katara asked him to demonstrate, he ended up accidently bursting an ice support to their fish storage area which had to be replaced immediately. By Katara, of course.

Throughout the mid-day meal, everyone was full of questions. One of the first questions was asked by Sokka. "What is it like away from home?" He asked eagerly before shoving a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

The question spurred a story telling between Hakoda and this decided intruder of all the amazing things they encountered.

Hakoda would nudge Aang in remembrance of "the incident", whatever that was, and Aang got more animated in his story telling than Katara had ever seen anybody get. Aang never seemed to sit still and acted three years younger. His arms were always in motion and Katara found herself smiling despite her jealousy.

She also noticed how his hands always found their way to his headband as if to reassure himself it was still there.

Aang did however, made it really hard not to like him. Katara always found herself smiling at his goofy, carefree way of carrying himself. But that also made her jealous for a different reason. She hadn't really felt carefree for a long time.

As Aang and her Father talked, it seemed that Aang knew so much more than than she did. He also understood things that she simply didn't, like how to sail a boat or the location of several Earth Kingdom cities. Katara wanted to know these things. She wanted to be the one to tell these stories.

When Gran Gran asked Aang where he was from, we got a really muddled answer about him coming from the swamps in the earth kingdom. Dad intercepted and said quietly that Aang did not like talking about his past too much.

This was strange because he sure seemed to like talking about all his adventures with her dad.

And then she started to think, and couldn't help but wonder why her father had left her and her brother, and picked up some random kid on the way to the battle front and allowed him to stay with him on the ship for a whole year.

Aang was a good year younger than her and Hakoda had told them that they had to stay here at home because they were too young. It made Katara want to hit something.

As her family continued to chat around the fire, Katara slowly withdrew from the conversation. It wasn't fair that she was stuck here, with the memory of her mother's death haunting her. It wasn't fair that some kid and taken her place at _her_ dad's side and got to see the world.

She had to move. She had to do _something._

When twilight began to set in, Katara abruptly stood up and Hakoda paused in his tale of when they discovered how to make a stink bomb. Four pairs of eyes looked at her. Katara pasted a smile on her face, hoping they couldn't read her thoughts on her face. "It's time to go see the lights." She said, her tone a bit sour but she eased up when her dad smiled at her and followed her out of the hut.

She walked closely to her father as they made their way out of the village and up the hill. She was determined to make these last three days count.

"So Katara, that a really nice necklace you're wearing." Aang commented as he fell into step beside her. Sub-consciously, she reached for it and ran her thumb across the waves engraved in it. Force of habit she mused, before tugging her hand away.

"Thanks. It was my mother's." She said curtly.

She let her mind wander back to the moment that it was given to her.

_Katara wiped her tears away, tired from crying. She wanted to show her dad that she could be brave. She knew it was for the best and the least she could do was show him she would be okay without him._

_When he finally made his way over to her, she almost broke down again. _

_But she didn't. Because she was stronger than that. _

_He wrapped her in a crushing hug then released her. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Katara spoke._

"_Don't you dare say good-bye." She said looking straight into his eyes._

_He scrunched his brows together. "Wha-" _

"_I mean, this isn't good-bye. Because we are going to see each other again." She said with certainty. _

_He gave her a wistful smile. "Okay." He rose to leave, but almost as a second thought, reached into his pocket with one hand and grabbed hers with another. _

"_Here," her dad said as he placed the necklace in her hands. "She would have wanted you to have it."_

_Katara closed her fingers around it and gave her dad one last hug before he left her._

They walked in silence until they reached their small little hill. It was a slight rise in the tundra and was a great vantage point that looked over the village, as well as the bay. It used to be the spot for a guard tower but like many other places, it is only a shadow of the past. Now it is used to look at the stars.

The lights were already beginning to show in the sky, like they usually did. They crept down towards the sea from the south, and were alit with the usual colors of pink, light green and blue. It wasn't unusual to Katara but watching them with her dad was always special and it was the first time in years. She instead watched him as he looked up at the sky.

"Do you remember the stories I told you?" Hakoda asked as he glanced up at the sky.

Katara smiled as she remembered his tales of the arctic spirits. He told of times before bending was created and Spirits roamed the world in physical form often interacting with humans. When she was little, she would sometimes reach out to see if she could touch them. They were too high of course but as the innocent naïve girl she was, she believed she could.

Just as she was about to reply that yes, she did remember the stories he told her, Aang spoke up. "Yes Hakoda, the ones about the spirits right?" He looked up at her father smiling in remembrance of the story.

This was the last straw.

Something snapped in Katara just then. All the built up feelings of the past burst forth and the anger, rage, and hurt came back. Her dad who had left her and her brother three years ago was only home for a few days and all he could do was talk about all the fun times he had with Aang.

He had invited them into _their_ house to stay the entire time. It seemed like he didn't want to spend time with them. She didn't have a mother anymore, and he was failing on being there for them. He had already failed.

"Alright!" She yelled.

All members of her family plus Aang looked down at her, switching their attention from the light spectacle above them to her.

She turned towards her father, recoiling from his side. She was too caught up in her emotions to notice Sokka's warning look he gave her. "I get it! You and Aang are having a wonderful time here at _our_ home and if you just wanted to spend your time with him instead of your children then fine! I don't care! I'm used to being alone now since you left. Just..." her voice faltered. "It's just that…" She paused looking at all the shocked faces around her.

They all stared wide eyed at her. She looked from her father to Gran Gran then Aang and then finally Sokka. Katara felt ashamed all of a sudden. Sokka was in the same boat as her yet he wasn't upset. He just looked at her like he felt sorry for her. She felt the sudden urge to leave.

"Never mind." She said with a biting tone. And with that she turned away and ran.

Tears leaked from her eyes. She couldn't hold them back anymore. She was tired of trying to be strong. Just of few hours into their return, and she couldn't just sit there and enjoy her father while he was there. She had tried, she really had. But the abandonment she felt when he left never really left her and the feeling just built upon itself over the years. Jealousy of Aang didn't make it any easier either.

She hadn't known quite where she was going but soon found herself by the ocean. Crouching down and clutching her sides, she hoped no one followed her. She definitely wasn't in the mood for talking with her father because at the moment she has too angry at him.

The fur of her hood brushed her face as a cold breeze blew over her. She shivered and brushed her tears aside looking into the ocean hoping it would calm her. The waves rolled in one right after another. Katara took a deep breath and let herself fall into the constant rhythm of the ocean, breathing with the waves. At least this was never going to change. The ocean would always move by the steady command of the moon. In and out, push and pull. It was a comfort to her because she knew that the ocean would be there and it would always calm her.

After a few minutes, she heard the snow crunching under someone's feet. She sighed and wiped her face once more, a futile attempt of masking her recent breakdown. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now." She was ashamed. She probably ruined the whole reunion for everyone.

Whoever was behind her settled himself down next to her anyway and out of the corner of her eye, she realized it was her father. "I know you don't. But we need to talk anyway." Hakoda said. Katara hung her head at his words because she knew it was true.

There was a short silence and when Hakoda discovered that she wasn't going to reply he began to talk. "Katara I would like to say that I am very sorry. I know I haven't been the best dad in the world, and there wasn't a day I didn't regret leaving you and Sokka right after your mother…" He trailed off.

"Dad." Katara said, turning to look at him seeing him sitting cross legged and trying to apologize to her. "Dad, mom's death was hard for me and Sokka, but you left just the day after it happened." She said feeling another set of tears come. "I was confused and so alone."

He sighed and Katara watched his breath disperse it's self into the cold air. "I know Katara, and so was I. In my grief, I forgot that it was the time that you probably needed me the most. I did the exact opposite of what I was supposed to do." He said regretfully.

Katara nodded in understanding. "It's okay Dad." She said finally. "I guess I forgot that you lost mom as well. It's just that you're my dad. You've always been tough and strong and I am sorry that I didn't think it affected you as much as I did me and Sokka." She didn't like holding on to that much resentment. She loved her Dad and she didn't have the energy to keep being mad at him.

He smiled and swept her up in his arms. "You have nothing to apologize for." He replied. She settled into her dad's arms comfortably. She forgave him. Three years was enough.

"Is everything okay now?" A tentative voice came from behind them.

Katara looked back to see her brother smiling at them both. He had probably just arrived. "Sokka!" She said happily. She released herself from her father's embrace and waved Sokka over. He ran over and sat on the other side of Hakoda.

Hakoda clasped his shoulder and then released it in greeting. "These past three years have been the hardest ever. Fighting a war takes a lot out of you, but keeping my mind on it helped me cope without Kya but it only made me miss you more."

Sokka nodded, taking in their dad's unspoken apology. He never took anything to 'dramatic proportions' as he called it. He often criticized her for holding a grudge against their dad. Only now did she realize that he probably understood why their dad did what he did. Maybe it was because he was a guy. Katara just knew that she wouldn't have left like her father did.

"What was it like?" Sokka asked cutting in. "I mean, fighting for peace." He said punching the air. Katara smiled because she knew how much Sokka hated not being able to fight. He had told in her once that he was upset Dad left, but even more upset that he wasn't able to go with him.

Hakoda chuckled. "It was actually, well… invigorating. Fighting for what you believe in really does something to you. It makes your heart beat faster and your mind think quicker when you're in combat. I was fighting for my children, our tribe, and the world." He clenched his gloved fist. "There's nothing fun about the war though. There's too much at stake. And too much blood." He said, tone darkening.

Katara wondered what it would be like to fight. Sitting helplessly in the South Pole while the men fought hadn't been very pleasant. She was also curious about the world outside the one she lived in. She had only ever known snow and ice, but from the things her father and Aang had told them about outside of the South Pole seemed intriguing. But the possibility of leaving seemed small though.

"Why did you let Aang come with you?" She asked. It seemed like a good time to ask the question when it was just the three of them. Plus she wanted to know why a boy a whole year younger than her had already been in the fighting world with her father for a whole year now.

Her dad switched his sitting position and took a deep breath. He looked like he was preparing for a long story. "Well, Aang is half the reason we are here actually." She gave him a confused look. "I better start from the beginning then." He finished.

"One day, while patrolling the waters south of Kyoshi Island, which aren't too far from here, we saw the water glowing. We weren't quite sure what we were dealing with so we surrounded it. No sooner than we completed the circle, a chunk of ice floated up from the surface. As it turned out it wasn't the ice that was glowing or rather it was the person within the ice who was. We sent out a canoe to see what it was about." Katara listened closely.

"Inside, we found Aang." He said, scratching his head. "This was about a year ago by the way. We broke the ice open and were amazed to see that he was still alive. He was a bit confused at first, calling out for his friend Appa. I'm still not quite sure who that is but that's not important."

"Wait, Aang was glowing inside a chunk of ice? Is this a joke Dad?" Sokka asked.

"No it isn't." Hakoda smiled. "My jokes are funnier." He shook his head trying to get back to his story.

"He kept to himself but after a week of being on board, he asked if he could talk to me." He stopped a moment. "I still can't really wrap my head around it, but Aang was in that Ice for about one hundred years." He said with a serious expression and voice.

Katara gasped. How could someone live that long, let alone stay the same age, inside an ice cube? Because Aang certainly wasn't one hundred years old.

"He asked me why we were fighting. He had been on board for quite a while and heard our conversations about the Fire Nation. He said that before he was in that ice, he was pretty sure there was no war going on. Soon we put two and two together and figured that he had been frozen for about that long. And that isn't even the weirdest part." Hakoda said wistfully.

"How is that even possible?" Katara asked.

"Well I'm pretty sure no one else would be able to do what he did." He paused and then continued. "Because Aang is the Avatar."

Katara froze, waiting for her father to say he was joking, that this was one of his really lame jokes. But it never came. As realization dawned upon her she stood up.

She thought the Avatar was dead. She believed that all the Air Nomads were gone. These facts were a simple part of her life. When she was younger she had hoped that it wasn't true but every year that passed was one more year without the Avatar and one year closer to the comet. The Avatar had become nothing but a story.

But then, here he was. The Avatar was the young boy she had been with the whole night. The Avatar had sat around her fire and ate her soup. He was a boy that she had been jealous of not too long ago.

"The Avatar?" Sokka said disbelievingly. "Aang? Really? He can't even water bend." He said dismissing the impossible idea.

"He can airbend just fine." Her dad said. "In fact, he's got the Tattoos to prove it, but we hid them to try out the disguise. Sometimes you can see the tip of the one that is on his head when the headband slips."

"This is amazing!" Katara laughed. "I thought The Avatar was dead! This means that there is still hope for the war." She said, realizing it all as soon as the words left her mouth.

Both Sokka and Hakoda had gotten up at some point as well. Sokka was pacing frantically, but then stopped. He turned towards their Dad and said "Wait, why is Aang the reason you're here?"

Hakoda looked upon his two fretting children and chuckled to himself. Neither had really changed too much while he was away. Katara's eyes were still windows to all her emotions, and Sokka still got worked up about everything. He had missed them terribly and regretted not coming back earlier. But his last question proved that they had been listening and hadn't missed his comment about Aang being the reason they were there. They had grown smarter as well.

"Actually the reason is him, and you." Hakoda told his kids. "After we learned Aang was the avatar, which was a little bit after we figured out he was in the ice for over a hundred years, I took a new mission upon myself. You see, Aang only mastered airbending. I went to Omashu were the Earth King Bumi was currently in meeting with the Northern Chief, Arnook. Long story short, we came up with a plan for training Aang, under the guise of a training school." Katara and Sokka shared a look of mutual understanding. Both were astounded, that their father would share this much with them. The insight of the war was a gift because neither knew much about what was really going on at all. The southern tribe wasn't exactly kept up to date on battle plans and such. All they knew was that the Fire Nation was getting closer to winning.

"The Fire Nation's spy's are wide spread and have even extended as far as the North Pole. Finding Aang teachers to teach him the other elements would cause too much a stir and we are trying to keep him a secret for as long as possible. We figured that by gathering a bunch of other kids and training them would disguise Aang's presence." Hakoda continued.

"I still don't get what this has to do with us." Sokka said

Hakoda paused and looked at the ground. Soon his eyes found theirs again and he then straightened his back almost unnoticeably, making a decision in his mind. "Because while we were talking, I remembered that I had two strong teenage children that might be willing to be the Avatar's friend and confidants while at the training facility."

The three of them stared at each other for a moment. Their dad was offering them a chance to leave. He was giving them a chance to feel like they were doing something and not like they were sitting around being useless like Katara had always felt. Like she knew Sokka had felt. Sokka was a warrior inside and even though he never said anything, Katara knew that since the letter was sent to them, he was hoping that Dad would take him this time around. Katara thinks Hakoda knew this as well, and maybe that was another reason he was offering. By going with Aang, Sokka would be away from any true combat. He would be safe. This chance would mean a lot to Sokka. She knew he would say yes.

For just a tiny moment, Katara felt conflicted. Home was all she knew. She never thought she would be able to leave, although it never stopped her from gazing out to sea and wondering what was like out there. It felt selfish because she knew that many were dying and at least she was semi-safe here. But the possibilities took over her mind. She would be able to learn water bending. She would get to meet other people her age, and maybe even make friends.

At this moment Katara knew what she wanted. She wanted to fight, for her mother and all the other mothers killed in this war. She wanted to fight because now she had hope. The Avatar had returned to the world and she thought that now, they might actually have a chance at winning this war.

"I'm so in." She heard Sokka say beside her. He was smiling.

Katara gave one last rub to her cheeks to wipe away the tears that were lingering there. She stepped forward and into the biggest decision of her life. "Me too."


	3. Chapter 3

After her talk with her father and her brother, Katara apologized to Aang for her rudeness earlier that day. She didn't want to get off on a bad start with the Avatar and Aang really was a nice kid. He was the only other kid around her age she had met besides her brother. Plus, it would be nice to have someone to talk to that wasn't related to her. And of course, he accepted her apology with a smile.

After they watched the lights and participated in the long awaited feast (which was really wasn't that much better than usual), they returned to their hut. Hakoda and Kanna had gone to bed and Katara, Sokka and Aang set their sleeping bags around the fire.

Just when Katara settled into her sleeping bag, her brother began to talk. "So," He began, drawing out the 'o' sound. "You're the Avatar." He finished, stretching out on his side.

Katara rolled her eyes. Sokka never really mastered the art of being subtle.

Aang gave them a half smile as he settled into his sleeping bag. "So your dad told you everything?"

"More or less." Katara answered. "It's amazing actually. You're like a miracle." And it was true. The likelihood of the Avatar being alive after all these years, had been miniscule.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "So does that mean you're coming to Omashu with me?" he asked.

"Is that where we're going?" Katara questioned, rolling onto her belly and peering at him over her pillow.

"Yeah. King Bumi built the training quarters himself!" He replied, as if that should mean something to them. Sokka and Katara stared at him blankly, before he added, "You know, I used to know Bumi when he was my age. We used to be friends one hundred years ago."

"That is so weird. And impossible." Sokka said dismissively. Before Aang could defend himself, Sokka's attention quickly shifted. "Hey can we see your tattoos?"

Aang smiled and lifted his headband from his head to reveal the end of a blue arrow peaking from under his hair. He removed his gloves as well to show his hands. "They're all over my arms and legs as well. That's why I'm going to have to where long sleeves and gloves all the time."

"Sweet." was Sokka's only reply.

Katara smiled. "So, tell us about yourself, Aang." She asked.

She spent the rest of the night getting to know the Avatar. He was a boisterous guy, who sounded like he loved to have fun. He seemed joyful and carefree. Katara envied his ability to seem like he didn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders. But it also bothered her. He was the Avatar, and he _did_ have the weight of the world on his shoulders, almost completely. And he wasn't showing it.

* * *

The second day was spent having fun. There were various shenanigans with snowballs and snow forts. Hakoda thoroughly beat them the first round of snowball fighting, but the kids came back with vengeance when it came to fort building. Water bending gave her and Aang an advantage.

The third day was spent simply being with each other. As the men reluctantly packed their things, Katara and Sokka did as well. It was a strange feeling, because they had never left home before. It was also a reminder that they were going to leave everything they knew behind. But as Katara packed her winter parka and two other sets of clothing, she thought she was ready. She wanted this. There was a hunger within her that she had never felt before. It made her all the more eager to indulge it.

When the morning of the fourth day occurred, everyone was at the shoreline, reluctantly saying goodbye. Thankfully, Katara didn't have to say goodbye to her dad this time.

She and Sokka gave their grandmother a hug. Leaving her would be Katara's only regret. She had always been there to talk to when she was feeling low and had been a main parental figure in her life. "We'll miss you Gran." She said releasing her grandmother.

"Your mother would be so proud of you." Kanna told them proudly.

Katara had to hold back her tears. She wasn't a kid anymore and it was time to be strong. She knew that she was meant to be leaving. She had always hoped for something bigger in life besides hunting in the South Pole. There was no way she would exchange this chance for anything short of getting her mother back.

Katara adjusted her bag on her shoulder and smiled as she waved to Kanna. She glanced at Sokka to see him proudly wearing his boomerang across his back and knife on his belt. This meant a lot to him to finally be doing something in this war.

After everyone had said their goodbyes, they boarded the ships. The siblings went on the same one as Hakoda. They didn't go to their rooms and stayed on the deck, waving until their icy home slowly disappeared. The sense of finality set in and Katara took a deep breath and turned her sights to the front of the ship where the sea lay before her. They were leaving at last.

They were all given cots below deck. It wasn't very spacious but this wasn't a luxury ship. You either worked or slept. All you really needed was a bed. The ship was set out so there was the deck, and then below deck. Below deck there were two main areas divided by a curtain of animal pelts. The smaller area consisted of a long table with chairs nailed into the wood so they couldn't move while the boat did. The other area was where the sleeping quarters were. And from the looks of it, everyone slept in the same large room.

Katara walked to the end of the room and set her bag on the bed. Across the room, Aang was talking to Sokka about riding elephant-koi. He was always talking about his little adventures, and half of them were pretty out there.

Just as she was about to join them, she heard her dad climbing down the stairs.

"There's something I have to talk to you guys about." Her dad said in a serious tone. The three stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the chief.

"No one knows but you that Aang's the Avatar and we need to keep it this way so do not tell anyone, even the people you will be training with. They will think they are going to a school to train for war." He said. "The Fire Nation should be kept in the dark for as long as possible and they are very resourceful in finding information. You can only trust us, and the people training you."

Katara recognized the gravity in his tone and understood that it was imperative to keep Aang's secret. "Of course Dad, you can count on us." She replied.

"We won't hit our first stop until tomorrow so I'll be out on the deck keeping the sailors in check." He said, turning to go.

"Our first stop?" Katara questioned. She had just thought they were going straight to Omashu.

Hakoda smiled. "Yes, we're going to be picking up the rest of the kids planning to train." He said. "That's why I reminded you that this all needs to remain a secret." He finished, before walking up the stairs.

Sokka took out his boomerang and pretended to throw it. "We're like, going undercover on a super secret mission." Sokka said grinning. "Just think Katara, three days ago we were just two water tribe people and now we are personal helpers to the Avatar."

Aang relaxed on his bed and threw his hands behind his head. "That's right. And as my personal helper you may go get me a snack." He said smugly. "Preferably leachy nuts."

"Did I say helpers? I meant mentors. We dictate what you do little adopted cousin." Sokka said sheathing his weapon. Aang was to become their cousin under the guise of a water bender. His other bending lessons would be taken privately so his identity would be hidden.

The three laughed and the rest of the day was spent within the companionship of each other. It was the last day before the new people started showing up and the last day where Aang could be his Avatar self freely. Tomorrow he would have to put on the gloves and headband once again.

* * *

**Authors Note: **I know it's been a while, just for this little chapter but I've been busy with school this year. I think this one will be my hardest year. But I promise I would finish and will get there. So here is a little something and hopefully it won't take as long for the chapter to be up. Thank for those of you who have stuck with this story. And I promise, it will be worth it in the end, whenever that may be

**Elive:** Thank you so much for following this story! It'll get more interesting as time progresses. I hope you stick with it!

**Midnight4568: **Thanks! Also, I want to thank you for reading and commenting on my other stories as well. Hopefully this one won't disappoint.

**Junoa: **Thanks for the critique! I went back, and I hope I smoothed it out a bit. Thanks for letting me know, and feel free to tell me about other things like that as well. I don't have a beta, so some things do slip my notice. I hope you continue reading!


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